Cape Town – The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has filed an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court to interdict the City of Cape Town from impounding taxis.
According to Santaco, several taxis were seized shortly after an agreement was reached between the parties, News24 reported.
The council argues that the impounded taxis were taken for “wrong reasons” and seeks their release.
“The urgency and necessity for the present application and the relief we seek are exacerbated by information that has emerged over the past few days. It appears that law enforcement, under the direction of the City and MEC, not only targets the minibus taxi industry, but indeed [has] quotas to be met in respect of the number of taxis that should be impounded,” the report quoted the council as saying.
Santaco contends that law enforcement officials were not abiding by their code of conduct and are enforcing the law arbitrarily, suggesting that there might be quotas for the number of taxis to be impounded.
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The council previously staged an eight-day strike to protest against the impoundment of vehicles for various infractions.
Santaco is requesting an interim order to ensure compliance with the signed agreement and to prevent further impoundments.
The City of Cape Town, however, asserts that the impounded taxis were taken in for violations under the National Land Transport Act.
Meanwhile, EWN reported that although Santaco has cancelled the large-scale taxi strike in Cape Town, their relationship with local government authorities remains tense due to disagreements about the terms of an agreement regarding the operation of minibuses.
The ongoing two-week taxi workshop, aimed at determining the traffic violations that should lead to the confiscation of minibuses, continues to raise significant worries.
“We have not had a meeting because our vehicles were impounded on Friday and Sunday. They were impounded due to non-impoundable offences, so we’re busy sorting these things and apologise for yesterday’s meeting,” the report quoted Santaco as saying.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
